Building a community of leaders who lead quietly with focus on community and collaboration, learning, vision, and balance

Saturday, September 1, 2007

What do you mean Lead Quietly? Introducing the Lead Quietly Manifesto

A colleague of mine asked a very good question recently. He subscribes to Lead Quietly and asked what I meant when I close my blog with "Please Lead Quietly." I can't really mean you need to be quiet. Do I mean please lead effectively? Certainly, but let me explain.First, when I end the blog by saying, "Please lead quietly", I consier the phrase a tagline. As much as anything, it is a branding ploy. Kind of like:

Walter Cronkite - "That's the way it is."

Edward R. Murrow - "Good night and good luck."

Star Trek - "To boldly go where no man has gone before"

Of course, I recognize that "Please lead quietly." doesn't compare to these legendary taglines. However there is deeper meaning. Over the months of learning and blogging I have tried to distill my notion of quiet leadership into a framework, a set of principles, a manifesto. It's a work in progress. Nevertheless let me share my early thoughts.

What is quiet leadership?

It is leadership where the leader focuses on four principles:

Building community.

Acting with vision.

Learning and adapting.

Keeping things balanced.

Future posts will explore these four concepts. My ultimate goal is to publish a "Lead Quietly" manifesto.

So what does any of this have to do with being quiet. Very little. But these principles are accessible to any leader. You don't have to be charismatic or a super hero. Anyone can lead quietly. And I firmly believe that many loud, macho leaders would be better leaders with some quiet insight.